Dizzy Gillespie (1917–1993)

Born:

21st October 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina, USA.

A statue of Dizzy Gillespie in his birth place of Cheraw

Died:

6th January 6 1993 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.

Buried:

Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, Queens County, New York, USA.

Some great pieces.

• Night in Tunisia. (See below for a video.)
• Salt Peanuts.
• Groovin’ High.
• Woody n’ You.

Some great albums:

• The Complete RCA Recordings (1937–1949).
• Groovin’ High (1945–1946).
• Jazz at Massey Hall (1953).
• Gillespiana/Carnegie Hall Concert (1961).
• Dizzy Gillespie and the Double Six of Paris (1963).
• Max & Dizzy: Paris (1989).
• To Diz With Love (1992).

Some interesting facts:

• He was one of the greatest jazz trumpeters who ever lived!
• He worked with Charlie Parker to help create ‘Bebop’ jazz. [Bebop is a style of jazz from the early 1940s until the late 1950s. It is often very fast and has very talented playing.]
• He also created modern ‘Cuban’ jazz, or ‘Cubop’.
• Many people think that his concert recorded in ‘Jazz at Massey Hall’ was the greatest jazz concert ever! (Charlie Parker and Bud Powell performed with him at this concert too.)
• From the mid 1950s he played a very unusual trumpet—the end of this trumpet sticks up in the air!
• His cheeks stuck out in an unusual way when he played the trumpet.
• He helped many jazz musicians become better at playing, including Miles Davis.
• His real first name was John.
• In 1964 he ran for President of the United States! He said that if he were elected, the White House would be called ‘The Blues House’ and his government would include jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong!!!